Hi Everyone,
I've been a long time reader and finally decided to create an account and see if I could get some of your opinions. After hours upon hours of reading through threads I think I decided on doing an 3 vessel, 1 PID, 1 pump HERMS setup to try and minimize costs right now and still provide the ability to upgrade more later (ie, more pumps, a CFC, etc). I have an electrician friend that is going to be wiring me a 50A 240 GFCI outlet in my basement and I am planning to work from that. This is what I'm planning on so far:
- Currently I already have 3 kegs I am going to convert. Nice clean micro stars.
- 5500W ULD elements in both the HLT and the BK
- 50' SS IC in to use both in HLT and then as the chiller as well
- One of those cheap ebay pumps that are referrenced HERE here is the eBay listing
- Doing 10 gallon batches
Here is what I am not so sure about and would love input.
- Is that one pump going to be sufficient as the only pump in the system?
- Are camlocks the best way to go for all the hoses?
- Is the 50' SS IC going to be good enough for doing 10 gallon batches?
- Is a sight glass absolutley necessary? If so in which kettles?
- How important is it to filter the water before hand? I'm in Parker, CO and have very good tasting water but hard water. Do I need somthing extreme or simply the RV style water filters or nothing at all?
- It seems like I can get 1/6 sanke kegs pretty cheap, how much of a PITA is it to use them for home brew use? All the cornies around here are pretty expensive.
Is there anything vital that I'm missing and should include? I'm trying to put together a parts list but am running into trouble figuring out exactly which PID is need, how big of SSR and then even simple things like where to get tubing, wedless fittings, and camlocks for a decent price. Do you think that a HERMS setup is the right way for me to go? It seemed like the most budget friendly starting off and still has really good feedback. When I'm using only 1 PID to control temps I am essentially going to be unpluging the temp sensor and element that is not in use right? Sorry if all this sounds fairly elementary. I have spent so much time reading over threads that I feel like I'm starting to confuse myself and make things more complicated than need be.
Thanks so much for any and all input! -Kevin
I've been a long time reader and finally decided to create an account and see if I could get some of your opinions. After hours upon hours of reading through threads I think I decided on doing an 3 vessel, 1 PID, 1 pump HERMS setup to try and minimize costs right now and still provide the ability to upgrade more later (ie, more pumps, a CFC, etc). I have an electrician friend that is going to be wiring me a 50A 240 GFCI outlet in my basement and I am planning to work from that. This is what I'm planning on so far:
- Currently I already have 3 kegs I am going to convert. Nice clean micro stars.
- 5500W ULD elements in both the HLT and the BK
- 50' SS IC in to use both in HLT and then as the chiller as well
- One of those cheap ebay pumps that are referrenced HERE here is the eBay listing
- Doing 10 gallon batches
Here is what I am not so sure about and would love input.
- Is that one pump going to be sufficient as the only pump in the system?
- Are camlocks the best way to go for all the hoses?
- Is the 50' SS IC going to be good enough for doing 10 gallon batches?
- Is a sight glass absolutley necessary? If so in which kettles?
- How important is it to filter the water before hand? I'm in Parker, CO and have very good tasting water but hard water. Do I need somthing extreme or simply the RV style water filters or nothing at all?
- It seems like I can get 1/6 sanke kegs pretty cheap, how much of a PITA is it to use them for home brew use? All the cornies around here are pretty expensive.
Is there anything vital that I'm missing and should include? I'm trying to put together a parts list but am running into trouble figuring out exactly which PID is need, how big of SSR and then even simple things like where to get tubing, wedless fittings, and camlocks for a decent price. Do you think that a HERMS setup is the right way for me to go? It seemed like the most budget friendly starting off and still has really good feedback. When I'm using only 1 PID to control temps I am essentially going to be unpluging the temp sensor and element that is not in use right? Sorry if all this sounds fairly elementary. I have spent so much time reading over threads that I feel like I'm starting to confuse myself and make things more complicated than need be.
Thanks so much for any and all input! -Kevin